City Power Slams Permanent R200 Additional Charge on PrePaid Electricity As Gwamanda Responds

• Your Johannesburg electricity bill is set to be at an all-time high, with the confirmed R200 surcharge being added
• The reason behind this decision is because of R20 billion in debt that the power company has built up
• People living in middle- to high-income residential homes will now be charged for using the prepaid meter

JOHANNESBURG - Mayor of Johannesburg Kabelo Gwamanda says the new tariff hike has been approved by NERSA. This means that it is part of the city's new legislation and is unlikely to see a reversed decision.

This new pricing scheme came into effect on 1 July 2024. The start of the month heralded errors, including charging some residential customers the R500 business traffic rather than the R200.

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All consumers have felt the financial pinch in these unstable economic times, but should residents carry the burdens of the City's poor management and decisions? The resolution was made in 2018 but delayed due to Covid-19. According to News24, the mayor pointed out that the surcharge was "a necessary intervention to create fairness and equality in the City's tariffs regime".

Mayor reponds to Joburg prepaid electricity increase

According to EWN, Gwamanda had this to say:

“It would then make it difficult at this point, unless we look into the adjustment budget for any form of review, which would come sometime next year. But in the immediate term, it forms part of the current budget, and reviewing it would mean the city does not have a budget and we would have to reverse the entire process, including the council resolution that would have passed this R200 surcharge into legislation.”

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This was meant to be a change that addressed the long-standing differences between prepaid and postpaid customers, but instead may leave many residents without power altogether.

South Africa has the seventh most expensive prepaid electricity in the world, according to @Saxon_Africa.

Public Reactions to the new cost

@IntergrityDee sharing the real struggle:

"This stoogie Mayor is very arrogant. One is struggling to buy a mere R100 prepaid electricity and boom I must pay R200 surcharge. We are really taken for a ride in Johannesburg."

@gezanimax calls the Mayor's position into question:

"It's good that DA and ANC are now working together, we can get the better mayor not this one."

@Druzzaza has a thought on exactly what should be done:

"They must not review it.... They must just cancel it.. hau!"

Johannesburg residents upset over City Power's cost spike

Johannesburg’s prepaid electricity clients were surprised on 1 July as City Power charged a 12.72% hike in price.

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The power provider said the newly implemented price adjustments were informed by a cost-to-supply study. The power utility said some customers would experience a slightly lower tariff increase, while it may be above 12.72% for others.

Source: Briefly News